Circuit breakers typically are used to interrupt power to a device which is drawing current in excess of the maximum current permitted by the circuit breaker. Current in excess of this maximum current value, typically called a "fault", causes the circuit breaker to "trip" or interrupt the current path. Prior art circuit breakers include electromechanical devices and microprocessor controlled devices.
When an electronic device such as a peripheral is connected to a computer bus when the bus is active, or transmitting data, the power drawn by the device in charging its internal capacitors immediately upon insertion may be sufficient to cause a transient voltage to appear on the bus resulting in a bus data error. To prevent such voltage transients from appearing on the bus, it is necessary to limit the inrush current to the peripheral as the peripheral is being attached to the bus. A circuit breaker which is capable not only of protecting against excess current flow but is also capable of limiting the in-rush of current to a peripheral being plugged into an active computer bus and permitting only unidirectional current flow is desired.